March for Our Lives
The []March for Our Lives is a student-led demonstration in support of legislation to prevent gun violence in the United States. It took place in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018, with over 880 sibling events throughout the United States and around the world, and was planned by Never Again MSD in collaboration with the nonprofit organization. The event followed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting a month earlier, which was described by several media outlets as a possible tipping point for gun control legislation.
Protesters urged for universal background checks on all gun sales, raising the federal age of gun ownership and possession to 21, closing of the gun show loophole, a restoration of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, and a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines and bump stocks in the United States. Turnout was estimated to be between 1.2 and 2 million people in the United States, making it one of the largest protests in American history.
Planning
Following the school shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, Cameron Kasky, a junior at the school, and his classmates, announced the march four days later. Also joining the march efforts are Alex Wind of Stoneman Douglas High School, who along with four friends created the "Never Again" campaign. Emma González and David Hogg, also survivors of the shooting, have been vocal supporters of the march.The date was chosen in order to give students, families and others a chance to mourn first, and then on March 24, talk about gun control. Organizers filed a permit application with the National Park Service during the week of February 23, and expected as many as 500,000 people to attend. However, the National Mall, which was the planned site of the main march in Washington, D.C., was reportedly already booked for March 24; the application, filed by an unidentified local student group, claimed it was for a talent show. A permit was later obtained for Pennsylvania Avenue. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced it would operate extra trains for the march.
The Enough! National School Walkout was held on the one month anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas shooting. It involved students walking out from their classes for exactly seventeen minutes and involved more than 3,000 schools across the United States and nearly one million students. Thousands of students also gathered and staged a rally in Washington, D.C., after observing 17 minutes of silence with their backs to the White House. After the success of the walkout, Hogg posted a tweet that included a provocative, NRA-style advertisement calling out lawmakers for their inaction on or opposition to gun control efforts, asking "What if our politicians weren't the bitch of the NRA?", and ending with a promotion for the upcoming March.
Celebrity and corporate support
and Scooter Braun were major forces behind the organization of the march, and aided in fundraising efforts behind the scenes. Amal and George Clooney donated $500,000 to support the march and announced they would attend. Oprah Winfrey matched the Clooney donation to support the march. Jeffrey Katzenberg and his wife Marilyn also contributed $500,000. Film director and producer Steven Spielberg and actress Kate Capshaw Spielberg donated $500,000, also matching the donation of the Clooneys. On February 23, Gucci announced they were also donating $500,000 towards the march. Other people and organizations offering support have included Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Gabby Giffords, Lauren Jauregui, Alyssa Milano, Moms Demand Action, Amy Schumer, St. Vincent, Harry Styles, Hayley Williams, Paul McCartney, Kanye West, and Kim Kardashian. John Legend and Chrissy Teigen donated $25,000. Jimmy Fallon pledged to attend an event with his family. Samantha Bee interviewed kids. Jim Jefferies interviewed participants in San Diego. Other celebrities including Taylor Swift have donated an undisclosed amount of money toward the campaign. Justin Timberlake, Will Smith, Cher and Amy Poehler also participated in the March.James Corden promoted the March for Our Lives event. John Zimmer and Logan Green, the co-founders of Lyft, announced their support of the rallies and stated that their company would provide free rides for those attending demonstrations. Dating app Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd subsequently announced that they were supporting the NeverAgain movement by banning all images of firearms on their dating application.
John Cena and Millie Bobby Brown applauded the March for Our Lives event at the Kids Choice Awards.
The founding members of MFOL were awarded Smithsonian Magazine's 2018 American Ingenuity Award in the Youth category.
.
In Washington, D.C., a prayer and vigil was held at the Washington National Cathedral on the eve of the rally, as a memorial for the victims of gun violence, and to declare the church's belief, "This work is rooted in our commitment to Jesus' command to love our neighbors as ourselves... We gather out of a conviction that the right to bear arms does not trump the right to life."
The litany also included the following refrain:
Guest speakers included Philip and April Schentrup, parents of 16-year-old Carmen Schentrup, who was killed in the shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Participation
March for Our Lives was among the biggest youth-led protests since the Vietnam War era. Estimates of participation at the main event in Washington, D.C., range from 200,000 to 800,000.The speakers—all of whom were high schoolers or younger—included Marjory Stoneman Douglas students Cameron Kasky, David Hogg, Delaney Tarr, Sarah Chadwick, Alex Wind, Jaclyn Corin, Ryan Deitsch, Aalayah Eastmond, Samantha Fuentes, and Emma González. Hunter Pollack, brother of victim Meadow Pollack, was scheduled to speak but did not attend due to a logistical issue, which he contended was a result of being misled by event officials. David Hogg tweeted out a video of Hunter's speech from a later event.
Other participants included Naomi Wadler, who is an elementary school student in Alexandria, Virginia, Trevon Bosley from Chicago whose brother was shot and killed leaving church, Edna Lizbeth Chávez, a high school student from Los Angeles, and Zion Kelly, whose twin brother was shot and killed during an armed robbery. Yolanda Renee King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., also made an appearance along with Mya Middleton, a student from Chicago representing After School Matters, Matt Post, a senior from Montgomery County, Christopher Underwood, an 11-year old from New York, Alex King and D'Angelo McDade from Chicago, and Matthew Soto, brother of Sandy Hook victim Victoria Soto.
seen on a Jumbotron in the distance during her moment of silence.
González, after speaking and naming the seventeen victims, stood silent for over four minutes, after which a cellphone alarm went off and she announced that it was the six minute and twenty second point in her speech, equal to the length of the Parkland shooting. González ended her speech saying,
then walked off stage as the entire crowd along Pennsylvania Avenue applauded loudly. Her speech and emotional moment of silence was praised by media organizations as one of the "most memorable" and "powerful" moments in the day's events.
Singers Ariana Grande, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Platt, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, Andra Day, Common, Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga, and Demi Lovato joined student-led marchers in Washington, D.C.
Responses
National Rifle Association
On March 21, NRATV host Grant Stinchfield stated that "March for Our Lives is backed by radicals with a history of violent threats, language and actions"; fact-checker PolitiFact has rated this statement as being "without merit" and "" indicating that it is a "ridiculous claim".While the march was occurring, the NRA posted a membership drive video on their Facebook page, declaring that the "protests aren't spontaneous. Gun-hating billionaires and Hollywood elites are manipulating and exploiting children as part of their plan to DESTROY the Second Amendment". Another video dubbed "A March for Their Lies" was uploaded to YouTube featuring Colion Noir, in which he described the planned rally as a "carnival of a march". Noir also said in the video that there is an "agenda that's a million times bigger than the guns".
Politicians
The Washington Post reported that there were many Democrats encouraging the marchers, and many of them, including candidates for office, participated from the sidelines in the march, but few Republicans did similarly. The White House said in a response that they "applaud the many courageous young Americans exercising their first amendment rights".On the day of the protests, Florida Republican senator Marco Rubio responded by stating: "However, many other Americans do not support a gun ban" and "view banning guns as an infringement on the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens that ultimately will not prevent these tragedies". He called for protesters to find "common ground with those who hold opposing views" for change to happen. However, a blanket gun ban was not called for by the protests.
Former Republican senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum criticized the Parkland activists, suggesting during an interview with CNN that students should be learning ways to respond to a shooter rather than asking lawmakers "to solve their problem"; Santorum advised students to take classes in CPR rather than marching in Washington. The Washington Post quoted several doctors responding to Santorum that CPR would not be at all effective on gunshot victims as they were suffering from blood loss.
Media
A report in The New Yorker praised the leaders of the march for their "extraordinary inclusiveness" in that they expanded the locus of concern from suburban schools to those of urban neighborhoods as well.On social media, fake pictures and GIFs of Emma González tearing up a copy of the U.S. Constitution were circulated in an effort to discredit the march. The images were doctored from originals of González tearing up a shooting target sign. Actor and conservative commentator Adam Baldwin defended circulating the doctored images as "political satire".
Use of social media
Previously, protests had occurred for multiple shootings in the United States, such as the 2015 Charleston church shooting, but never had they amassed more than several hundred participants. With social media, more information was relayed to a larger audience in quicker time, giving more people awareness of what was happening across the nation. By National Walkout Day on April 20, 2018, the social medias had followings over 1.3 million people and in Washington D.C. alone, 200,000 people attended the March For Our Lives protest, whom many younger adults attributed to the big social media presence. The hashtag #MarchForOurLives was used 3.6 million times, and over 7.5 thousand tweets were directed at the NRA social media account.The March For Our Lives Twitter started in February 2018, with the Twitter handle, @AMarch4OurLives. Up to date, the Twitter account has 450,000 followers and are a student-run organization with a large social media presence. The March For Our Lives Twitter has real time, up to date tweets about the movement. It includes tweets about the red flag bill being signed in from other March For Our Lives accounts based in different locations, such as NYC. In addition, the March For Our Lives Twitter account also alerts their followers about the events that are happening, such as meetings at Town Halls or when certain protests are happening. All of their posts follow certain guidelines and relevance, and they also continue to retweet their own tweets too.
The students who survived the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and millions of students worldwide participated in March for Our Lives, emerging as more influential on Instagram than celebrities on the gun control. One of the tools they used were the hashtags. Top hashtags such as #MarchForOurLives #NeverAgain, #GunControlNow, and #EnoughIsEnough are used to spread the word and call on the public's attention. Instagram becomes an ‘informal’ narrative platform that promoted a 'clicktivism' type of responses from the audience for the march. Besides, students collaborate with Bartle Bogle Hegarty to create the first Instagram coloring book. BBH L.A. executive creative director Zach Hilder said, “we wanted to give them tools to elevate their voices, create a way to unify their message and allow everyone to participate in the march. That’s the inspiration for Color for Our Lives.”
Snapchat
The March For Our Lives movement leveraged Snapchat to gain momentum, spread the word and draw attention to what students and supporters were doing around the United States in response to recent shootings on school campuses. Unique from other social media platforms, Snapchat contains a map feature that allowed the world to see when and where activities by its users is taking place. This allowed the student walkouts to be easily tracked around the US. Video shows thousands of students and supporters walking the streets, protesting gun violence and current gun laws. Snapchat created a "March For Our Lives" Sticker that could be used by the platform's users to document the walkouts around the US.Celebrities
, a survivor of the Bataclan terrorist attack, called the march "pathetic", but after being criticized for his comment, later apologized saying, "I was not attempting to impugn the youth of America and this beautiful thing that they accomplished. I truly am sorry, I did not mean to hurt anyone or cause any harm."Locations
United States
Washington, D.C.
In anticipation and planning of the day's events, many streets in the nation's capital were closed to vehicle traffic. Several blocks of streets encompassing much of the National Mall, stretching from the Washington Monument to the United States Capitol and from Independence Avenue to E Street, were closed to vehicle traffic. Some of the rally-goers grouped at Trump Hotel, expressing displeasure that the Trump administration has not addressed school safety nor gun control in a meaningful way.Northeast
In Connecticut, marches took place in Hartford, East Haddam, Enfield, Guilford, Middlebury, New Haven, Old Saybrook, Pawcatuck, Roxbury, Salisbury, Shelton, Stamford and Westport.In Maine, demonstrations took place in at least fifteen communities throughout the state, the largest demonstration occurring in the city of Portland, with smaller marches in the cities of Bangor, Orono, Lewiston and Presque Isle.
In Massachusetts, demonstrations were held in Boston, Cape Ann and Martha's Vineyard. WGBH reported that marches took place in Beverly, Hyannis, Worcester, Springfield, Falmouth. Boston Police estimate 80,000 people joined the demonstration.
In New Hampshire, marches took place in Concord and Portsmouth and Jackson. The Concord event was organized by Eve Caplan, a sophomore at John Stark Regional High School, and another high school student in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Portsmouth had a demonstration in Market Square, and was organized Sarah Mae Brown, a leader of The Resistance Seacoast.
In New Jersey, demonstrations took place in Trenton, Newark, Asbury Park, Hackensack, Haddon Heights, Hoboken, Jersey City, Montclair, Morristown, Ocean City, Somerset County Somerville, Union and Westfield.
In New York, demonstrations were held in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Cobleskill, Ithaca, Oneonta, Rochester, and White Plains. In New York City, where an estimated 200,000 people marched, the musician Paul McCartney cited the murder of John Lennon as motivation for joining the protests when he told a CNN journalist, "One of my best friends was killed in gun violence."
In Pennsylvania, marches took place in Allentown, Bloomsburg, Doylestown, Easton, Erie, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, Scranton and State College. Jay Leno made an appearance in West Chester, Pa.
A march took place in Providence, Rhode Island. Thousands of people gathered on the lawn of the Rhode Island State House.
In Montpelier, Vermont, city officials estimated that 2,500 people participated in the demonstration on the State House lawn. Elsewhere, demonstrations took place in Bennington, Putney, Rutland, Manchester and Middlebury.
Midwest
In Illinois, demonstrations were held in Chicago, Glen Ellyn, Springfield, Vernon Hills, and Downers Grove.In Indiana, a march was planned in Indianapolis.
In Iowa, marches were planned in Des Moines, Iowa City Davenport, and in Cedar Rapids.
In Michigan, Marches occurred in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, among many statewide.
In Minnesota, 20,000 people attended a march in Saint Paul Other marches were held in Rochester, Grand Marais, Duluth, Aitkin, Karlstad, Ely, Brainerd, Starbuck, Sartell, North Branch, Willmar, Mankato.
In Missouri, marches took place in Kansas City, O'Fallon, Springfield and St. Louis. The St. Louis march was scheduled to begin at 10:00am at Union Station and culminate at the Gateway Arch. Initial estimates anticipate 10,000 attendees. The Kansas City rally held at Theis Park, just south of the Nelson-Atkins Art Gallery, drew 6,000 participants. The KC March was organized by students from area-wide high schools, who set up a Facebook page chronicling the event. Twenty-one Kansas & Missouri organizations hosted the event. The rally culminated in a march through the nearby Country Club Plaza upscale shopping district. Organizers partnered with the Poor People's Campaign to promote their Faith Assembly at Community Christian Church—planned by Kansas and Missouri organizers together.
In North Dakota, marches took place in Fargo, Bismarck and Minot.
In Ohio there was a rally in Cleveland in Public Square followed by a march through the streets of downtown. In Cincinnati a rally took place at City Hall, which followed a performance with seventeen flutes made from shotgun barrels, as a memorial to the victims of the Parkland shooting. Another march occurred in Columbus at the Ohio Statehouse, and other rallies took place in Athens and Dayton, each drawing hundreds of protesters.
In South Dakota, hundreds attended a march in Sioux Falls. Sister marches were held in Rapid City and Vermillion.
In Wisconsin, marches were planned in Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Appleton and Milwaukee.
In Kansas, demonstrations were planned in Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence, and Kansas City's Theis Park. Police estimated 5-6,000 participants in Kansas City's event.
South
In Alabama, marches took place in Birmingham, Mobile, Dothan, Montgomery, Selma, Jasper, and Florence. The largest of these, the Birmingham march, drew over 5,000 attendees.In Florida, demonstrations took place in Gulf Breeze, Miami Beach, Orlando and West Palm Beach, Naples where 3,000 people gathered at Cambier Park for the march and a rally. The Orlando march was organized by students of UCF, and was held at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando with 35,000 people in attendance. The city where the school shooting occurred, Parkland, also had a march. Similar marches were also held in northeast Florida in Jacksonville, Fernandina Beach, and Saint Augustine
A rally in Jacksonville had a turnout of over 1,000 people in Hemming Park. Hundreds of people marched from Hemming Park to the Duval County Courthouse with signs including: "Grab them by the mid-terms" and "#neveragain". Notable speakers included John Phillips, the civil attorney of Jordan Davis, the seventeen year old who was shot and killed at a gas station in 2012 and Stranger Things actor Chester Rushing. In Saint Augustine, the march began by walking over the Bridge of Lions, down Avenida Menenedez, ending at Fort Castillo. The event was organized by Flagler college students with assistance from Indivisible St. Johns, St. Johns DEC, Women's March St.Augustine, and Ponte Vedra United Progress.
The Fernandina march saw a turnout of around 1,200, and began north on 6th Street and then down Centre Street. One sign read: "Let's be responsible adults"; another stated: "Organizing, An Active Form of Grieving".
In Georgia, rallies were held at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. Athens, Augusta, and Dahlonega.
In Kentucky, marches were held in Bowling Green, Calvert City, Lexington, Louisville and Marshall County.
In Louisiana, marches were held in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and New Orleans.
In Maryland, students from Severna Park High School and other Anne Arundel County Public Schools planned a demonstration to be held at Lawyer's Mall in Annapolis. They invited 188 state legislators. Students, teachers, the Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, and Moms Demand Action were scheduled to speak. In Baltimore, student members of the Student Activist Association at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute organized a march to begin at War Memorial Plaza in front of City Hall and ending near the Inner Harbor. The Mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh also announced that she was organizing 60 free buses to take students to the demonstrations in Washington, D.C.
In North Carolina, marches were held in Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Raleigh, Hendersonville, and Wilmington.
In Oklahoma, marches were held in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
In South Carolina, marches were held in downtown Charleston, Greenville, and Columbia.
In Tennessee, demonstrations were held in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, Cookeville, and Nashville.
In Texas, demonstrations were held in Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. In Corpus Christi, students from W. B. Ray High School were scheduled to lead a march at 3 p.m. in Sherill Veterans Memorial Park.
In Virginia, Richmond Public Schools planned a march to take place at the Virginia State Capitol at 10 a.m. A march was also scheduled in downtown Norfolk.
West
In Alaska, A march attended by hundreds of people occurred in Anchorage. Marches also took place in Fairbanks, Homer, Juneau and Ketchikan.In Arizona, marches were held in Phoenix, Prescott, Tucson and Sahuarita.
In California, marches were held in Encinitas, Escondido, Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange County, Sacramento, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco. The San Francisco march and rally was held in Civic Center Plaza and planned by physician, Shoshana R. Ungerleider.
In Hawaii, demonstrations were held in Honolulu, Kahului, and Waimea.
A march was held in each of the cities of Denver, Colorado; Boise, Idaho; Idaho Falls; and Helena, Montana;
In New Mexico, marches were held in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
In Oregon, marches happened in Corvallis, Bend, Eugene, Salem, Florence, Coos Bay and Portland. The Portland event included a march from the North Park Blocks to Pioneer Courthouse Square, where Portugal. The Man performed.
In Utah, there were several marches planned including in Logan, Salt Lake City, Park City, Provo, Cedar City and St. George.
In the state of Washington, marches attended by hundreds took place in Spokane, and Yakima. Thousands marched in Seattle and Bellingham.
Puerto Rico
In an official announcement to the state, Governor Ricardo Rosselló announced that he commissioned the Secretary of State, Luis G. Rivera Marín, to begin preparations for the march in San Juan. Rosselló called for all citizens and civic, religious, and private sector organizations to stand united in solidarity for improved gun control. He also remarked that Puerto Rico has the strictest gun control regulations of all jurisdictions in the country. Rivera Marín stated that "our communities need to be a place where our people have peace, not fear". He announced that the march would begin at Condado Lagoon and culminate at the Peace Pavilion in Luis Muñoz Rivera Park.Outside the United States
North America
In British Columbia, marches were planned in Vancouver and Victoria.Marches were set to take place in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta.
Students from R.D. Parker Collegiate in Thompson, Manitoba, were planning to march.
In Ontario, marches were planned in Ottawa, Guelph, Kitchener, Stratford, Toronto, and Waterloo.
In Quebec marches were planned in Montreal, Westmount, Quebec City, and Sherbrooke.
New Brunswick was set to have a march in Fredericton.
Newfoundland and Labrador planned a march to take place in St. John's.
Africa
Marches were planned in Accra, Ghana; and Mozambique.Asia
Survivors from the Parkland shooting spoke at the rally in Tel Aviv, Israel, which took place at the U.S. Embassy.Marches were planned for Hong Kong; Mumbai, India; and Tokyo and Okinawa, Japan.
Europe
Students from the International School of Geneva in Switzerland organized a rally outside the European headquarters of the United Nations, attracting hundreds of students.In Germany, protests were held in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Friedrichshafen, Heidelberg, Munich, and Wiesbaden. Events also took place in Reykjavík, Barcelona, Oslo, Stockholm, and Geneva.
In the United Kingdom, hundreds marched outside the US embassy in London. Marchers also held a "die in" and lay on the ground outside the US embassy to show solidarity with the Parkland students. Demonstrations also took place in Belfast and London. In Scotland, relatives of the Dunblane massacre victims joined a demonstration outside the US consulate in Edinburgh.
International and American students rallied in Rome near the US embassy, some holding signs that read "Protect People, Not Guns", "Enough is Enough", and "Dress Codes Are More Regulated Than Guns", as they wanted to make their voice clear to America. The march in Rome was organized by the Rome chapter of American Expats for Positive Change ; the organizers stated their efforts to support America and safety in U.S. schools, even though gun violence was not solely an American issue.
In Amsterdam, hundreds participated in a demonstration near the US consulate on the Museumplein. The organizers and speakers included American and Dutch high school students, an alumna of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and a Florida student walkout organizer who lost a friend in the Parkland shooting.
Protests were also held in Vienna, Paris, The Hague, Majorca, Copenhagen, and Brussels.
Oceania
Marches were planned for Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, and Sydney, Australia.New Zealand planned marches in Albert Park, Auckland; Parliament House, Wellington; Cathedral Square, Christchurch; and Union Hall at the University of Otago, Dunedin.